June delivery delay - Lotus now says July…

I was down for a June delivery but I’ve just received this from Lotus…

As you’ll be aware from our previous communication, your new Emira specification is now fixed in our production system and scheduled to be completed in June 2022. Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that your new Emira will be ready for handover in July 2022. Ahead of this, we will be in contact to arrange the delivery and handover with you. We appreciate this is later than originally predicted, so please accept our sincere apologies for the slight delay.

In the coming weeks we will be providing more information regarding financial services, trade-in and insurance products that you may be interested in for your new Emira. Following that, a couple of weeks before handover we will be in touch to complete the checkout process.
We know you have been waiting and are excited to receive your new Emira but please be assured that it will be everything you’d expect and more from a Lotus car.

I’m not that surprised but was wondering if anyone else hoping for a June car has been told it’s still on or is everyone’s delayed a little?

 

[scoates]

I really don't understand why it's always in batches and some get the mails and others don't. Surely you choose your database by month and hit send!

I often wonder if it is split down by name, or potentially by position in the queue that these emails are sent out. I guess they will do smaller batches to ensure everything sends smoothly? I dunno.

Would be interesting to find out though if it is name, queue position, or random!

 

[TomE]

I'm really surprised at the people who are cancelling their orders over the delay of one month. You placed your deposits last year before you even knew much about the car; you've waited all this time, and now you're going to cancel over a one month delay when everything everywhere is experiencing delays? You realize, that if it was scheduled to be delivered on Thursday June 30, but they deliver it the next day on Friday July 1, that's actually only a one day delay? Even though technically it's a July delivery instead of a June delivery? Worst case would be delivery scheduled for Wednesday June 1, and instead they deliver it on Saturday July 30; that would be a 60 day delay, but the reality is likely to be somewhere in between those two extremes.

I have a feeling that those who cancel, thinking they'll get one later, may find it very hard to get one later and with a much longer wait than they've seen so far. Once the general public sees these out on the street, that's going to change things.

At any rate, thank you to those who cancelled; it made it possible for me to get an FE, and I'm now scheduled for a November delivery.

Or December. Or maybe next year. Who knows?

 

[DJS]

Or December. Or maybe next year. Who knows?

Agree I doubt this month delay will be the last of it.

 

[Eagle7]

Or December. Or maybe next year. Who knows?

It'll arrive when it arrives. I'm in it for the long haul. I've waited since July 11 when I placed my deposit. I'm just going to be patient until it arrives, knowing that it would be a LOT longer of a wait otherwise.

 

[xen]

Same email putting back from June to July . Annoying as I didn’t change spec after they locked in my build without letting me know, as they said it would go back to July for any changes.

Cancelled my order now, as finding the whole buying process disappointing. just not feeling the love. Anyone who ordered a blue with red leather auto V6, might be jumping the queue this week

However look forward to seeing the cars on the road and know it will be epic. Enjoy you lucky people.

He did say he cancelled because he found the WHOLE buying process frustrating and not just because of the delay - as has been selectively stated.

Frankly the process hasn’t been great. Comms have been poor and the silliness around not publishing pictures very hard to understand. Requiring people to travel and pay Just to see the colours under the premise of a tour doesn’t sit well either. You need to remember a lot of people are buying the Emira as their first lotus and this is their first experience with the brand.

Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right. The email wording also reads like it was written by a politician - worrying. If the delays will be cascaded, when will Lotus inform later deposit holders? Now when they know they’ll be delayed or hang on till two months before delivery?

 

[Leonard]

He did say he cancelled because he found the WHOLE buying process frustrating and not just because of the delay - as has been selectively stated.

Frankly the process hasn’t been great. Comms have been poor and the silliness around not publishing pictures very hard to understand. Requiring people to travel and pay Just to see the colours under the premise of a tour doesn’t sit well either. You need to remember a lot of people are buying the Emira as their first lotus and this is their first experience with the brand.

Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t make it right. The email wording also reads like it was written by a politician - worrying. If the delays will be cascaded, when will Lotus inform later deposit holders? Now when they know they’ll be delayed or hang on till two months before delivery?

I just want transparency. Tell it how it is and I will happily move on and not worry, knowing that a seat delay etc is the reason

 

[xen]

As you’ll be aware from our previous communication, your new Emira specification is now fixed in our production system and scheduled to be completed in June 2022. Therefore, we are pleased to inform you that your new Emira will be ready for handover in July 2022. Ahead of this, we will be in contact to arrange the delivery and handover with you. We appreciate this is later than originally predicted, so please accept our sincere apologies for the slight delay.

Dear John,

We know you are very excited and looking forward to receiving your Emira just as we are to deliver what we know will be an amazing car.

We are very sorry that it will be taking us a little bit longer to get your car to you. Unforeseen supply chain issues and circumstances beyond our control have forced us to push deliveries back a month.

Please understand that we’re working as hard as we can to get your “insert customer colour spec car for a personal touch” Emira to you as soon as possible and are happy to offer a 15% discount on a factory tour as a token. We look forward to welcoming you soon to the Lotus family.

I don’t know about you but I really don’t think it’s that difficult to sound like a human and show some actual empathy.

 

[Davebeats]

When I first signed up on one of the other big Lotus forums, a member poked at the enthusiasm of all of the new members that signed up for the Emira, basically saying, just wait, you will face delay after delay and enjoy trying to source parts.

Starting to see where he was coming from. 😆

 

[LotusAmateur]

I really don't understand why it's always in batches and some get the mails and others don't. Surely you choose your database by month and hit send!

It’s amateur hour in customer services and looks like it will stay that way. I like bespoke but this is just ridiculous. Cannot have been so hard to get a decent Salesforce system

 

[LotusAmateur]

When I first signed up on one of the other big Lotus forums, a member poked at the enthusiasm of all of the new members that signed up for the Emira, basically saying, just wait, you will face delay after delay and enjoy trying to source parts.

Starting to see where he was coming from. 😆

This one delay does not worry me. The pattern does - I don’t have high hopes that Lotus will get their customer experience act together. I am sure it will be a great car but I am dreading the after sales and if anything goes wrong (as it will for a new car and production line). Not sure I am ready for that aggravation.

 

[TomE]

In other news, Lotus issued a press release today about the remodellling of their retail sites.

It’s part of a wider strategy apparently (my highlighting):

Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, Lotus, commented: “As we evolve and expand our product range, we are enhancing the Lotus customer experience. The physical transformation of our retailers and retail agencies worldwide, coupled with the launch of our digital e-commerce platform, is a key element of that process."​

🤦‍♂️

 

[TXEMIRA]

in other news, Lotus issued a press release today about the remodellling of their retail sites.

It’s part of a wider strategy apparently (my highlighting): “Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, Lotus, commented: “As we evolve and expand our product range, we are enhancing the Lotus customer experience. The physical transformation of our retailers and retail agencies worldwide, coupled with the launch of our digital e-commerce platform, is a key element of that process.”

🤦‍♂️

That’s where all the deposit revenue is going to go…

#ForTheEscrows

 

[andrew6382]

Oh Sorry... have i missed something , not being around..... June deliverys moved to July

Well inflation reached 9% today..... the cars are soon going to cost more, if not the cost of the car, loaning money to pay for it, will be going up

On another note.....I pick up my 621 BHP 0-62 in 3.7 seconds 202mph car morrow

 

[andrew6382]

in other news, Lotus issued a press release today about the remodellling of their retail sites.

It’s part of a wider strategy apparently (my highlighting): “Geoff Dowding, Executive Director, Sales and Aftersales, Lotus, commented: “As we evolve and expand our product range, we are enhancing the Lotus customer experience. The physical transformation of our retailers and retail agencies worldwide, coupled with the launch of our digital e-commerce platform, is a key element of that process.”

🤦‍♂️

When are they going to get, when the only way to buy your car, is online, sales guys in dealers ? well not dealers, that have no interest in pushing the brand, and half the time the information they get is out of date..

we are enhancing the Lotus customer experience.....

When you want to buy a top brand car, you need to see and feel the materials the car is upholstered in, colours on panels of a size and shape, you can see how paint flows, how it colour changes over curves

Just saying, am not invested in the Lotus journey any more

 

[Pav]

Maybe it's because of the new 'gift' box I was told about on my factory tour. Apparently it contains a model of an Emira in the colour of your car, with the spare key underneath and some 'special dust caps'. Yours for free. No of course it's not. £80 apparently.

 

[spice]

I'm June delivery - no email yet 🤞

I’m June delivery , no contact yet , hopefully still on schedule.

 

[EspritGuy]

When are they going to get, when the only way to buy your car, is online, sales guys in dealers ? well not dealers, that have no interest in pushing the brand, and half the time the information they get is out of date..

we are enhancing the Lotus customer experience.....

When you want to buy a top brand car, you need to see and feel the materials the car is upholstered in, colours on panels of a size and shape, you can see how paint flows, how it colour changes over curves

Just saying, am not invested in the Lotus journey any more

Interesting that the April 13th press announcement mentioned the Dallas Lotus dealer as a branding example, among others.

 

[TomE]

Interesting that the April 13th press announcement mentioned the Dallas Lotus dealer as a branding example, among others. View attachment 4497

Why interesting? I thought I’d seen pictures of the owner showing the place being renovated?

 

[EspritGuy]

Why interesting? I thought I’d seen pictures of the owner showing the place being renovated?

Interesting to me because the hometown reference was included in a global press release as the only US dealer mentioned.
Not a small thing.
Prominence.

 

[Jon_N]

Surprised they’ve not looked at dealers for their other marques to open new sites as the longer term play.